Swamp Rat Republished
by ZariDenim
Summary: This is the same exact story as Swamp Rat. I reposted the chapters after chapter 20, because it is bugged on the other story. Sorry guys! You can read and review on here for now.
1. Normal Repost

**Yay! Another chapter! I am aware that this one is being published a bit late tonight. It was a crazy day.**

**So... I have this chapter... and it's... different from the others. This one is another story building chapter, leading into another mission, blah blah blah. The next chapter is going to be good if I can get it to where I want it to be.**

**Anyway, hope everyone is having a good week! I will save my babbling until the end of the chapter!**

**~Zari  
**

**Chapter 21: Normal.**

Rogue passed each of her finals, and had wanted to opt out of walking to get her diploma. Jean and the Professor had insisted that it was a once in a lifetime experience that she need to have. She wasn't excited about the upcoming ceremony the next week. She had convinced herself it would be over quickly.

Logan had been searching endlessly for the culprit behind the operation that Rogue and Remy had run into a few weeks before.

"I'm still runnin' into dead ends on who's behind all the mutant huntin'," Logan informed the X-Men, "but I found a lot more of this crap." He placed vials of clear liquid on the table in front of the group.

Rogue recognized it as the same liquid that was injected into her and her powers were inhibited for hours. It may have seemed frightening to the other mutants in the room, but to Rogue it almost seemed like her only hope at ever knowing what it feels like to touch another human being. In the back of her mind, she entertained the idea of grabbing all the liquid that they could find and storing it until she found someone that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She partially wanted to find whoever was behind this whole thing so she could discover how he had created this wonderf…uh, terrible thing.

Remy noticed her gaze on the vials.

Rogue noticed his looking at her, and turned her attention back to Logan. She wouldn't. She could wait. She could find another way to touch another person.

"Because this junk stops all mutant abilities, trainin'll have two parts from now on: honin' your mutant abilities and learnin' how ta fight without 'em," Logan informed them.

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

"I wish I could use Cerebro," Jean stated. "I might be able to track him down."

The Professor smiled kindly to her. "You will one day, Jean. But you're not ready yet."

Jean smiled sadly to him.

"Until then, we do things the old fashioned way," Logan said as he grabbed the vials up and put them in a box.

Henry took the box from him and adjusted his glasses. "I shall conduct a few simple tests to better understand how this was developed. It may give us a better idea of where to start looking."

Logan nodded to him. "Good."

Henry thought for a minute. "Would anyone be willing to allow me to run tests on them while they are under its effects?"

Rogue looked to Henry hopefully. To be able to feel normal for a few hours without being trapped in a cell with Remy and fearing for her life? Of course she would!

Logan nodded to him. "I'll do it. No reason ta scare the kids."

Rogue felt her heart sink into her chest with disappointment. So much for having a chance at feeling normal.

"I don't think that is a good idea. We don't know how long its effect is designed to last. If we should need you for battle, you won't have your abilities to assist you," Henry told him.

Logan scoffed. "Okay, then. Who do you think we can spare?"

Henry turned to Rogue. "If you don't mind, Rogue, I believe you are the best candidate."

Rogue wanted to smile widely and hug Henry out of excitement, but she wouldn't want anyone to think she actually _wanted_ this. She nodded to Henry. "Sure."

Remy looked at Rogue and then looked away. He must have known what she was thinking about. Darn him!

()

Henry took out a syringe with a dose of the serum in it, and gently injected it into Rogue's arm vein. "Prepare for a small stick," he said. He carefully avoided her skin and used gloves to ensure he didn't fall prey to her power before injecting the serum.

Rogue felt as though she could walk on air. She knew what this stuff could do. She knew it would give her at least six hours of a normal life.

Henry placed a bandage over the needle wound and smiled to Rogue. "Well done. Let's give it a few minutes to circulate."

Rogue took off her gloves and looked down at her hands. Now that she had the serum flowing through her blood, her hands seemed perfectly natural to her. Usually they looked like weapons that she couldn't put down, like Logan's claws.

Henry began testing some of the serum in a small dish.

Rogue felt that the serum was wasted. She wondered if anyone would blame her for wishing to use it for her own personal use.

Henry turned to her and held his hand out. "Shall we put the serum to the test?"

Rogue lifted her hand and placed it into his hands. Her skin touched his fur and there was no reaction. She ensured it was working by touching his bare blue palm. Still nothing. It was perfect!

Henry smiled and pulled a pillow out and placed it on the medical table. "Relax here. I'll take a little blood, and you can return to your room for some rest."

Rogue nodded and allowed Henry to take some of her blood. She wondered if the blood being taken would shorten the effects of the serum. She hoped not. She wanted to have a clear understanding of how long the serum would work in her blood. She knew from the guard that she had absorbed that the serum was designed to last for eight hours, but hers hand worn off long before that when they had her in the cell. She needed to know what dose would work for the full eight hours. This would be a good test.

Henry put her blood vials into a holder and bandaged her vein. "Drink this slowly and you can return to your room for as long as you need."

Rogue smiled at him. "Thanks." He would never know that she was thanking him for her for hours of being normal. He probably just thought she was glad to be getting out of the afternoon training with Logan.

()

Rogue smiled as she looked through her closet. She could go out and not worry about who touched her, so she could wear whatever she wanted.

Before she could begin to enjoy her freedom from her power too much, she had another memory:

_I watched as she dropped a sheet of her notes on the ground as she made her way through the bustling sea of high school students. This was my chance! I finally had an excuse to talk to her!_

_I rushed over and grabbed the paper. I could imagine it all in my mind. She would be so grateful, and she'd finally notice me. The captain of the football team; handsome and sweet enough to give her back the notes that she dropped. I would be her hero. She might even be willing to go out with me. It seemed as though everything was going to go exactly as I needed it to for her to finally notice that I exist._

_As I neared her, all of my confidence faded. She was beautiful…but she was also intimidating. I was completely unworthy. I didn't deserve to pick her notes up from the filthy school hallway floor. I didn't deserve to give them back to her. Why would she even consider it as anything more than me being a stalker that followed her around and watched her drop the notes?_

_She stopped at her locker and went to open it. She turned and saw me standing foolishly in the middle of the hallway, looking at her as though she was a goddess fallen from the heavens. "Can Ah help you?" the lovely gothic girl said to me._

_I stupidly held the paper out in front of me. "Paper…yours…was on the floor…" I dribbled out. Why couldn't I just speak?_

_She took the paper and looked up at me with her incredible green eyes. "Thanks," she told me calmly._

_I felt a goofy grin sliding its way across my face. Why was I such a loser around her?_

_She placed the paper in with her other notes, swapped her books in her locker, and closed it back up. "You can go now," she told me, as she turned to walk away. As she turned, she dropped a small silver chain that must have been around her wrist as a bracelet._

_I picked it up from the floor, and was going to call after her to give it back, but I decided to keep it for another time. I could plan a speech for her, and not be such a lame-o the next time I spoke to her. I placed the bracelet into my pocket and walked off to my class. "Yes, Cody, you are smarter than people give you credit for," I thought to myself._

Rogue felt the shirt she was holding slide through her fingers. He _had_ liked her for a long time before he had asked her to dance the night her powers developed. She had wondered where that bracelet had gone. She suddenly didn't feel like going anywhere. She had something that she needed to do. She pulled out her laptop and opened her internet browser. She looked up Cody's parents and found their home phone number. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed the number. She needed to do this before she thought better of it.

"_Hello?_" a sweet voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Hi," Rogue began, "Ah'm an old friend of Cody's and Ah'm coming into town soon. Do you think Ah could talk to him and set up a time to meet?"

"_Ah'm sorry, dear. Cody has been in the hospital with a coma for a long time now,_" the sweet woman answered.

Rogue felt guilt overcome her. A coma! He had been in a coma all this time and she hadn't even thought to find out what had happened to him? She really was a monster!

"_You could always pay him a visit though. They say he can hear people when they talk to him,_" the woman told her.

Rogue felt tears forming behind her eyes. "Thank you. Could you tell me which hospital and the room, please?"

The woman gave Rogue all the information she needed to be able to go see Cody.

Rogue politely ended the conversation and returned to her computer to find trains headed for the area where the hospital was.

"Going for a trip, Chère?" Remy's voice came without any warning.

Rogue nearly jumped from her seat. "Ah told you to knock first!" she snapped as she turned toward him.

Remy looked past her to the laptop screen. "Louisiana? You home sick?"

Rogue closed the lid to the laptop so he couldn't see anything else. "Ah'm busy right now, Gambit."

Remy smirked at her. "Mad at me, Chère?"

Rogue stood and pushed him toward the door. "Leave me alone, Swamp Ra-"

Remy turned and stopped her before they reached her door. "What if I help you get to Louisiana?"

Rogue stopped pushing him. She didn't really have the money for a train ticket, and she didn't know if she wanted to chance stow-awaying on her own. "Ah'm listening."

Remy smiled down at her. He was clearly satisfied that she was giving him a chance to help her. He was sure that she was going to only give him this one chance, so he needed to take it now.

**Oh... Remy taking the bull by the horns. Guess he really was a little tripped up by her going out on a date with Bobby, huh?**

**Well, we'll just have to wait until the next chapter to see what he does. We'll also get to see how Rogue reacts to seeing Cody for the first time in so long and it's the return of Pyro! As dirty as he is. Not that I don't like Pyro, he's just dirty. :p Great accent though. Anyway, the next chapter is going to be good. Oh, and there will probably be mention of she-who-shall-remain-unnamed. ;)**

**Thanks again to everyone who reviews and favorites this story!**

**clueless c - Yay! a new reviewer! Thanks for taking the time to let me know what you think! I hope you keep giving me feedback and you continue to enjoy my story!**

**Rogueslove22 - Bobby is a stinker! He knows what he's doing and he's playing the innocent little boy act! Wise in his situation, considering he has the younger thing going for him. Anyway, more of him and his craftiness later. And Remy... oh, Remy is going to start stepping his game up very soon. Mwahahaha!  
**


	2. Cody Repost

**Another day. Another chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

**~Zari  
**

**Chapter 22: Cody.**

Rogue sat in the train car as it sped over the tracks. She hadn't even given thought to the fact that she was alone with Remy. She was focused on what she was going to say to Cody. She owed him an apology, weather he was awake to hear it or not.

"So where we goin', Chère?" Remy asked her as he shuffled his cards.

Rogue looked out the door of the car. "Ah thought you had business of your own here?"

Remy smiled. "I do."

Rogue looked over to him with attitude. "Then why do you need to be in mine?"

Remy let out a soft laugh. "Have it your way, Chère."

Rogue turned away from him. "Ah really wish you'd stop calling me that," she mumbled beneath her breath.

()

Rogue felt her heart beating faster as she stepped up to the hospital. To her surprise, Remy had left her alone. He said he was going to finish his "business" and that they would meet back up later. Part of her wondered if he was around there somewhere, watching her in hiding. She ignored her imagination and went into the hospital.

She made her way up to the room where Cody was staying. She felt horrible as she slowly opened the door and came upon the sight of the sad young man looking as though he was sleeping peacefully in the hospital bed.

Rogue snuck over to his bedside. She looked down at his innocent face. She new this man. He would have been graduating right now. He would have been on his way to a football scholarship to a good college. He would have grown up, married, gotten a job as a business executive and had three kids. She knew all of his daydreams, his memories, his wishes, and his life. She knew everything. He didn't deserve this.

She tried to say something, but her voice caught in her throat. This was all her fault, and no amount of apology was going to make this right.

She forced herself to calm down. She had to do this. There was nothing else she could do. "Hi, Cody…" she managed to push out. Her voice was shaky and unsure. She hated herself more and more with ever second that she saw the blonde hair falling over his creamy face. "Ah'm…really sorry. Ah know nothin' Ah say could ever make up for what happened, but Ah would have stopped it if Ah had the ability to…"

Cody stirred.

Rogue didn't know much about the medical understanding of comas, but she was pretty sure that the people weren't supposed to move. "Cody?" she said as she came closer to him.

Cody lay, unmoving again.

Rogue wondered if she had imagined it, or if he was finally regaining his life force. She waited a few minutes in the room. "Ah don't think you'd like me anymore. Ah'm a mutant now. That was mah power, when Ah absorbed your life force, abilities, and even your psyche. There hasn't been a day go by that Ah haven't felt you inside mah head." She thought that telling him about her would make her feel better, but it wasn't doing anything of the sort. She felt more like she was justifying what had happened, rather than taking responsibility. "Ah'll come back to visit you again. Ah don't know if you'd actually want me to, but…Ah want to make sure you make it through this."

Cody didn't move, and the only sound in the room was his breathing and the beep of his heart monitor.

Rogue stood up straight and looked down at him. "Ah wish Ah had noticed you before that party," she told him. She turned and made her way out of the room and walked, defeated, out of the hospital. She didn't get the closure that she was hoping for. She realized now that there was a chance that she never would.

()

"Gambit," John, Pyro, said as he approached him.

Remy looked at him with his red eyes. "John. Following me for a reason?" he asked.

John smiled at him. "Come on! If ya didn't want me ta folla ya, then you shouldn't have left your letter for your divorce finalizing in your room," he said, waving a piece of paper in front of him.

Remy took the paper from him. "It wasn't on purpose."

John smiled at him. "Done with the sheila, huh? And here Oi thought ya were crazy about her?"

Remy looked down at the piece of paper. Everything had been taken care of. He couldn't just leave Belladonna hanging after everything that happened. It wasn't her fault. He wasn't going to leave things unfinished. Now they were finished. This would be his last trip to Louisiana. He was going to be the leader of the Thieves' Guild by reputation only from that day forward.

"Unless that isn't the same sheila…" John said. He clearly knew what he was talking about.

Remy looked to John and then away. "I had to fix things."

John shrugged. "You're too noble for a thief."

Remy laughed a little. "That I am." He handed John back his wallet.

John took his wallet back and couldn't hide the surprise on his face. "All right. Oi have a job that Oi could use some help on, if you're interested…"

Remy smirked at him. "What kind of job?"

()

Rogue sat on a bench, waiting for Remy. Honestly, she wasn't waiting as much as she was thinking. She had hurt Cody. She had really hurt him. His life would never be the same because of her. Maybe her power was her punishment. Maybe it was supposed to keep people away from her to keep them safe. She felt a few tears rolls down her cheeks as the thought hit her. It was irrational and unfair, but it was brought on by guilt and her self-loathing.

Remy slid into the seat beside her. "How was you're day, Chère?"

Rogue wiped her tears away quickly, hoping that he hadn't seen. "Just perfect. How was your 'business'?" she asked, looking him in the face.

Remy smiled. "Productive," he answered. His expression changed, and he pushed her hair from her face. "What' wrong, Chère?"

Rogue stood and moved toward the train station. "Ah'm just ready to go home."

Remy watched after her for a moment, and followed her.

()

Remy watched Rogue as she sat in the train car. She had been quiet for far too long. She hadn't even rolled her eyes at him when he would say something. Whatever she had done in Louisiana had really affected her. He knew he should have followed her to make sure she was all right.

Rogue looked out of the car and her eyes were glossed over with tears.

Remy moved to sit next to her. He looked at her seriously. He couldn't play with her and make this better. He should have never helped her come here. He should have found out what she was doing before he offered. She would have just found her own way here anyway, though. "Rogue?"

Rogue looked at him, and then looked away quickly. She should have known better than to assume she could hide her feelings from him. He had spent far too much time learning about her.

"What happened, Chère?" Remy asked her smoothly.

Rogue didn't look at him. Her lower lip trembled as though she were holding back sobs. Her eyes filled with tears that she refused to let fall. "It's nothing…" she squeaked out.

Remy drew closer to her. "You don' have to lie to me."

Rogue stared forward at nothing in particular. She must have been trying so hard not to cry in front of him.

Remy leaned closer to her, and whispered, "Tell me…"

Rogue let one tear stream down her cheek. It was all she needed to break down. "Ah went to see the first boy Ah touched with mah power," she struggled to say without sobbing. "He's in a coma! There's nothin' Ah can say to fix this. There's nothin' Ah can do. Ah'm helplessly trapped in this power and damned to be alone forever!" Tears rolled down her cheeks and dropped off her chin.

Remy was surprised that she had actually opened up. She had built such a strong wall to keep him out that it was alarming to know that she was telling him her feelings, for once. He wrapped his arm around her to comfort her. He hoped this wasn't pushing her too fast. "That' no' your fault, Rogue. You couldn' control it."

Rogue turned and curled herself up into his chest. She let her tears fall down freely and placed her face to his chest.

Remy was alarmed by her reaction at first, but he quickly recovered and wrapped his arms around her. This might have been the first of many times he would hold her like this, or it might have been the only time he would be able to hold her like this. Either way, he was going to eat this up while he could. "You don' have to be alone forever, Chère," he told her. "I won' let that happen."

**I had a bunch of stuff written here and accidentally hit the back button, so it is all gone! It was just some babble about how hot Remy is though... Hehehe. Remy...**

**Ahem! Anyway, The next chapter is underway and I will have it up as soon as I can. Hehe.**

**Thanks again to everyone who favorited and reviewed!**

**Chellerbelle - Thanks! I thought that was a good touch! Hehe.**

**Rogueslove22 - He totally would do something like that! He's such a player! He knows what he's doing. Mwahahaha!**

**DontMessWithAnime - I have been very busy! I've been a writing fiend on this story! I hope it stays that way! Hehehehe!**

**clueless c - Yes! That was something Evolution didn't cover, so I made it up to fit with the other storylines. Hehe. **

**ONIX-21 - I'm glad you like it. Hehehe! He's so sneaky! Just wait until the chapters to come! It's going to be awesome!  
**


	3. Bug Is Fixed!

Hey everyone!

The bug on the original Swamp Rat story is fixed! Yay!

You can all read all of the chapters on that story now, and there is no more need to place chapters on this one. I'll be deleting this one next week.

Thanks !

~Zari


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